Trailer hitches for small vehicles usually include a socket that connects to a hitch ball mounted on the rear end of a towing vehicle. The trailer usually includes a forwardly extending trailer draft tongue that includes a coupler having the downwardly facing ball socket that is to be placed over and pivotally connects to the hitch ball.
When the towing vehicle is to be connected to the trailer, the operator typically elevates the trailer tongue so that the socket of the coupler is at a slightly higher level than the level of the hitch ball that is carried by the towing vehicle. The operator backs the towing vehicle toward the anticipated position of the socket of the coupler until the operator estimates that the hitch ball is aligned below the socket of the coupler. The operator then stops the vehicle, exits the vehicle and lowers the trailer tongue until the socket of the hitch registers with the hitch ball and the trailer is mounted to the hitch ball.
It is important that the ball socket of the coupler is properly mounted on and is locked to the hitch ball, and most trailer hitches include a lever actuated latch that is movable to extend a locking element from the trailer hitch to a position in abutment with the neck of the hitch ball, below the larger lateral breadth of the hitch ball for locking the trailer hitch to the hitch ball of the towing vehicle. Without this type of lock, there is a hazard that the trailer hitch will tend to bounce off the hitch ball upon the vehicle and/or the trailer passing over bumps in the road, or upon braking or accelerating, or upon side forces received from winds, or turns of the towing vehicle, etc., or upon the trailer being out of balance. Accordingly, the driver of a towing vehicle, when in the driver's position within the vehicle, is not likely to remain in the vehicle and to allow someone else to lock the trailer hitch to the hitch ball of the towing vehicle. This means that the driver is likely to apply the emergency brakes to the towing vehicle, exit the truck, and then make sure that the lock is secure between the trailer and the towing vehicle. While this operation is likely to increase the safety of the connection between the towing vehicle and the trailer, it leaves the towing vehicle and the trailer unattended for accidental movement during the locking procedure. Also, it is possible that the conventional latch device used to connect the trailer top to the ball hitch might be inadvertently left open or could be accidently engaged by another obstacle that causes the latch to open.
It is to the above described problem that the following disclosure is directed.